IN last week’s Boxing News preview of Samir
Ziani’s European super-featherweight title defence against Alex
Dilmaghani at Production Park Studios, we predicted that the fight could
turn out to be one of the best of the year. And so it proved, as the warring
southpaws combined to produce a thrilling encounter brimming with courage,
determination, non-stop action and no shortage of skill.
Up until the 12th and closing frame, every round was
fiercely fought and closely contested, with champion and challenger going head
to head and taking it in turns to tear into each other. The pace was frenetic throughout
and the fitness levels on display were astonishing.
Dilmaghani, 29, enjoyed success early in the opener when
using his jab to keep the bout at range. He mixed in quality body shots but was
unable to deter the 30-year-old Ziani, who was dangerous with the overhand left
and uppercut. Stinging hooks from both hands nestled into the sides of Ziani’s
torso in the second, yet the world-ranked Frenchman continued to target Dilmaghani
with slashing lefts.
In the third, fast flurries and solid short hooks
smacked into Ziani’s skull. Dilmaghani zoned in on the midsection in rounds
four and five, though the bullish Ziani refused to be slowed. What the strong
and stocky visitor lacked in finesse he made up for in sheer output – his aggression
was relentless.
Referee Giuseppe Quartarone belatedly warned
Dilmaghani for using his elbow in the sixth – a round in which the Crayford fighter
was cut below the right eye. Ziani stormed in with lefts and rights both
upstairs and down in the seventh. Dilmaghani responded in the next session by stabbing
out his jab and neatly pivoting away from punches in order to land his own.
After being lectured again by the official for use of
the elbow, Dilmaghani swapped heavy hooks with Ziani in the ninth. A clash of
heads in this stanza left the man from Blagnac nursing a wound by his right eye,
to go with a gash on the bridge of his nose. The gruelling war of attrition
persisted in round 10, as Ziani connected with a pair of clean right-lefts on
the inside.
The teak-tough super-feathers exchanged combinations
in the 11th and, for the first time in the contest, a sign of weariness was evident
when Dilmaghani staggered back slightly following an assortment of hooks from Ziani.
Going into the last round, Dilmaghani was ahead on two
of the three judges’ scorecards (as well as mine), but Ziani would soon render
these tallies redundant. A furious two-fisted assault from the EBU titlist
caused Dilmaghani to stumble forward and fall to the mat after becoming entangled
with his opponent. Mr Quartarone did not deem this a knockdown, nor did he when
an exhausted Dilmaghani was only kept up by the ropes in the wake of another burst
of blows.
By now, Dilmaghani was spent, especially so when a
trio of clubbing hooks forced him down in the corner. The fight should have been
stopped here, but the referee allowed it to continue. Unable to grab hold, the
brave Dilmaghani was felled by a final Ziani onslaught, as the bout was called
off with only nine seconds left to run.
On the undercard, rejuvenated Brixton cruiserweight Isaac
Chamberlain needed just 50 seconds of a scheduled eight-rounder to ruthlessly
dispatch Wolverhampton’s Matt “Slugger” Sen. A powerful barrage necessitated
referee Mark Lyson’s intervention.
In a battle of unbeatens at middleweight, Sevenoaks’ young
Michael Hennessy Jnr, the son of the show’s promoter, was pipped 58-56 (for
Mr Lyson) by two-fight Longton novice Jamie Stewart.
Woodland Hills, California-based Irishman Stephen McKenna
looks like one to watch. Boxing just above the welterweight limit, he savaged Castlemilk’s
Gary McGuire. The Scottish journeyman was initially decked by a
collection of winging hooks. Upon the resumption, a larruping left put him on
his backside and led to a stoppage at 1-13. It had been set for six. John Latham
officiated.
Mr Latham also oversaw sculpted Birmingham super-middleweight
Idris Virgo’s shutout 40-36 points victory over Trafford trier Scott
Williams.
The Verdict Hats off to both boxers for a rip-roaring main event.
FULL RESULTS
Samir Ziani (129lbs 6oz), 32-3-1 (7), w rsf 12 Alex Dilmaghani (129 1/4lbs), 19-2-1 (8) 1NC; Isaac Chamberlain (205lbs), 12-1 (6), w rsf 1 Matt Sen (205lbs 2oz), 5-3 (1); Jamie Stewart (156 1/4lbs), 2-0, w pts 6 Michael Hennessy Jnr (158 1/4lbs), 4-1-1; Stephen McKenna (149lbs 9oz), 5-0 (5), w rsf 1 Gary McGuire (150 3/4lbs), 1-17; Idris Virgo (167 1/2lbs), 7-0-1 (1), w pts 4 Scott Williams (170 1/2lbs), 0-8.